1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to stabilizing window structures having shattered or missing glass panes and to safely removing shattered glass from window structures. More particularly, the present invention relates to stabilizing a window structure in which all or substantially all of the glass is missing therefrom, to safely removing glass shards from a track of a window structure, and to safely removing a shattered window pane as a plurality of separate sections using cracks in the window pane to define the separate sections.
2. Brief Discussion of the Related Art
Window structures are found in many various types of fabrications or constructions including buildings and vehicles, such as automobiles, buses, trucks, trains, planes, boats, ships and the like. Conventional window structures include one or more transparent window panes, typically made of glass or other breakable material, and a frame, which may be formed by a separate frame member or by a portion of the fabrication or construction itself, supporting the one or more panes. The panes of most window structures are susceptible to damage from many various sources; and, consequently, shattering, breaking or cracking of window panes is not uncommon. A window structure in which a pane is shattered, broken or cracked is unstable or destabilized since the damaged pane is prone to collapse or cave in, loose fragments or shards may fall or come loose from the pane, and the barrier or seal normally provided by the unbroken pane between the exterior and interior sides thereof is compromised. Fragments that actually fall or come loose from the pane present the risks of injury to individuals and damage to objects located exteriorly and/or interiorly of the window structure, particularly since the panes of window structures are most commonly made of glass. Where the shattered pane is in a window structure located at an elevated level or floor, pieces of the pane that fall exteriorly present a grave risk of harm to people and objects below, especially in urban areas. Compromise of the barrier or seal normally provided by the unbroken window pane presents the risk that the interior side will be undesirably exposed to environmental elements via cracks, fractures, fissures and/or holes in the pane. Accordingly, there is often a great sense of urgency to remove and replace shattered window panes immediately to eliminate the hazards presented when they are left in place for some time. In most cases, however, shattered window panes cannot be replaced immediately after they are broken; and, therefore, they must typically remain in place for some time while presenting an ongoing risk of harm until replacement can be accomplished. Although plywood is sometimes used to temporarily cover window structures in which the panes are damaged, plywood is heavy, typically fifty pounds for a single sheet, cumbersome, expensive, requires carpentry skill to install and is inconvenient to use. More specifically, plywood must typically be cut to fit the particular window and must be drilled and screwed into place so that the window frame and/or the fabrication or construction in which the window structure is installed may be damaged by the fasteners needed to secure the plywood in place. The drawbacks associated with the use of plywood are even greater when numerous damaged window structures are involved and/or when the damaged window structure is not easily accessible, such as when the damaged window structure is at an elevated level or floor.
The instability presented by a window structure having a shattered window pane makes safe removal of the pane difficult to accomplish. One common approach used by professional glass companies to remove shattered glass panes of window structures involves banging or smashing the panes with a hammer or other implement so that they fall to the exterior of the fabrications or constructions in which the window structures are installed. This “knock-out” approach tends to scatter glass fragments, and even tempered or laminated glass can produce many small fragments. When the glass fragments impact the ground or other objects, they may shatter even further and may damage the objects impacted thereby. Afterwards, significant additional labor is required for clean-up to collect and remove the glass fragments. Even when great care is exercised, however, potentially injurious glass fragments may be left behind due to the great difficulty associated with collecting small and/or widely scattered glass fragments. A further problem associated with the “knock-out” approach is that the glass usually splinters along the window frame such that shards are created along a track of the window structure, and these shards are dangerous and tedious to remove as described further below. Where the window structure is located at an elevated level or floor, the “knock-out” approach may be unacceptably dangerous. Another approach is to remove the shattered glass carefully by hand, piece by piece. The latter approach is dangerous, very time consuming, and messy, requiring the glass remover to work slowly and cautiously. Moreover, removing the glass pieces individually affords little control over preventing the shattered window pane from collapsing or caving in as the pieces are removed.
A further approach to dealing with shattered glass panes of window structures attempts to stabilize the window structures prior to removal of the panes. With this approach, the shattered glass panes are taped with adhesive tape to hold the panes together prior to removing them from the fabrications or constructions in which the window structures are installed. In order to keep a shattered glass pane intact, the adhesive tape must typically be applied to the entire or substantially the entire surface of the shattered glass pane. Applying the adhesive tape to the entire or substantially the entire surface of the shattered glass pane is laborious and time consuming, particularly where the glass pane is large. In addition, the tape must be pressed against the shattered pane in order to adhere the tape thereto, and such pressure or force can cause the pane to cave in or collapse and/or fragments to come loose therefrom. Even when the adhesive tape is carefully applied to the entire surface of the glass pane, fragments may still become detached from the tape and fall when the shattered pane is manipulated during removal.
A window structure is also unstable or destabilized where all or substantially all of the glass is missing therefrom. The barrier or seal normally provided by the unbroken glass is entirely lacking or is compromised, resulting in a great risk that the interior of the fabrication or construction and/or objects disposed therein will be damaged by environmental elements. In addition, the absence of all or substantially all of the glass from a window structure may present an opening large enough for a person, especially a child, to accidentally fall through. Plywood has been used on window structures to cover large holes until replacement panes can be installed, but has various drawbacks as noted above. A further instability arises in window structures in which an insubstantial amount of the window pane remains as shards disposed in a track formed in one or more mullions and/or the in the frame of the window structure. These shards protrude from the mullions and/or window frame and are potentially very injurious due to their exposed points and/or sharp edges. Moreover, the shards are difficult and time consuming to remove from the track, being typically removed individually by hand.
In vehicles, the panes of window structures, such as windshields, sliding windows, fixed windows and movable windows, are oftentimes shattered, cracked or broken due to impacts, such as those incurred during vehicular collisions or crashes. Plastic sheeting is sometimes taped over shattered vehicle windows to provide a barrier between the exterior and the interior of the vehicle; however, the use of tape is disadvantageous for requiring that pressure or force be applied to the window as discussed above. Shattered window panes in vehicles thusly present the same problems discussed above and also present additional problems in emergency situations where one or more passengers are trapped inside a vehicle. Where one or more passengers are trapped inside a vehicle, such as when the doors of the vehicle cannot be opened, it is often necessary to quickly remove a window pane to access the one or more passengers. In the case of automobiles, for example, it is often necessary to quickly remove a shattered front and/or rear windshield in order to access one or more passengers trapped inside. Where one or more trapped passengers are injured and require medical attention, reducing the time required to remove a vehicle window pane to access the one or more passengers is of the essence.
It is undesirable to remove broken window panes of vehicles by pushing the panes into the interior of the vehicles. The disadvantages of the latter approach are discussed above, and the latter approach is particularly undesirable where one or more passengers are trapped inside the vehicle, since the one or more passengers may be injured by fragments of the pane during and subsequent to entry of the fragments into the vehicle interior. An approach that has been used in emergency situations to remove shattered car windows involves applying adhesive tape to the exterior surface of a shattered window pane in order to enhance the integrity of the shattered window pane so that paramedics can pull it out of the car using handles created with the tape. As pointed out above, this procedure is usually time consuming and may cause the shattered window pane to cave in or collapse. The time that must be spent taping the shattered window pane represents time that an injured passenger goes untreated. In addition, caving or collapsing of the window pane into the vehicle interior may cause injury to the passengers therein.
The use of polymeric materials applied to glass for removal by peeling has been proposed, as represented by U.S. Pat. No. 3,455,865 to Bolt et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,486,918 to Motter, U.S. Pat. No. 4,636,543 to Helton, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,020,288 and 5,107,643 to Swenson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,949 to Grogan et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,281,436 to Swidler, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,186,978, 5,302,413, 5,362,786, 5,411,760 and 5,523,117 to Woodhall et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,830,760 to Benngston and U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,725 to Kluth et al are illustrative of one-component and two-component polyurethanes. None of the aforementioned patents contemplates the use of a cohesive or unifying material to stabilize a window structure in which all or substantially all of the glass is missing therefrom, to form a shattered pane into a cohesive mass allowing safe removal of the shattered pane as one or more relatively large pieces, to safely remove glass shards from a track of a window structure, or to safely remove a shattered window pane in a plurality of separate sections, corresponding to a plurality of separate cohesive masses, using cracks in the window pane to define the separate cohesive masses. Also, none of the aforementioned patents considers using a pre-formed panel of lightweight compressible material over a destabilized window structure to thereby impart stability to the window structure.
From the above, it should be appreciated that there is a great need for stabilized window structures and methods of stabilizing window structures in which all or substantially all of the glass is missing therefrom. There is also a need for methods of removing shattered glass from window structures wherein shattered window panes can be controllably removed as part of a single cohesive mass or as part of a plurality of relatively large, cohesive or integral masses, with the plurality of cohesive masses being formed by separating a single cohesive mass into separately removable pieces or by forming separately removable cohesive masses using pre-existing cracks of the shattered pane to define the separately removable cohesive masses. An additional need exists for lightweight, inexpensive, and easy-to-install pre-formed panels which may be used advantageously instead of plywood to impart stability to destabilized window structures. The need further exists for methods of removing glass shards from a track of a window structure wherein the shards are removed as part of one or more cohesive masses. Stabilized window structures and methods of stabilizing and removing shattered glass from window structures are needed which do not apply significant pressure or force to the glass and which are safe, efficient, easy to use, economical, and applicable to various types and sizes of windows installed in various diverse fabrications or constructions.